Students interview candidates for SGA advisor

Dean Karen Van Norman is serving as the current SGA advisor, as students prepare to handle interviews to find a permanent advisor.Megan O’Brien/Staff Photographer.

Karen Van Norman, dean of students, announced at a Student Government Association (SGA) meeting on Jan. 22 that student leaders would interview prospective candidates for the Assistant Dean of Students position.

According to Van Norman, members of SGA and the Multicultural Advisory Committee (MAC) were invited to participate in an interview panel. Additionally, Van Norman said that the position will be filled this month.

Freshman diplomacy major, Dominic Thompson, participated in the interview panel last Thursday and Friday. He expressed in an email that he wanted to know about each candidate’s experience with student government and their plans for promoting and strengthening campus clubs.

“As a SGA Senator, I believe it is vital that I represent my fellow students in official school matters,” Thompson said. “The voice of every student of this school has to be heard when we look to hire administrators that directly impact our community on campus.”

Violet Reed, SGA vice president and an English and environmental studies major, expressed her closeness to the Assistant Dean of Students position and its influential impact on student life.

“Since my freshman year at Seton Hall, the assistant dean position has been the most vital resource I have had on campus,” Reed wrote in an email, “I worked closely with our former Assistant Dean Maggie Bach, and I understand the benefit of having a strong and vibrant administrator to encourage your initiatives, back your organizations and craft necessary leadership programs.”

During Reed’s interview, she asked questions regarding the candidate’s knowledge of Student Government, Greek Life and their ideas for future programs.

“I was thorough as were my fellow interviewers,” Reed said. “Whoever gains the assistant dean positions must be a jack of all trades in a sense, or open to learning the intricacies of organizations they have not worked with yet.”

According to Darby Debonis, a sophomore nursing student and SGA senator, the interviews lasted one hour per candidate and she asked questions regarding a candidate’s ability to adapt to challenges and implement solutions.

“Each candidate was excited by the prospect of working with students and various organizations, and each candidate was able to speak genuinely about their past endeavors and future prospects,” Debonis expressed in an email. “I’m excited to work with either candidate, both have visions for Seton Hall’s future and that is what I believe is most important.”